Letter to the Editor: Program one of best

Andy Barnett, in a letter to the editor in the Feb. 13 Sun Advocate, stated that he thinks Carbon County needs to do a better job with its youth recreation programs.

As a former recreation director, I want to assure Mr. Barnett that his community has an outstanding youth recreation program.

The variety of the programming is what makes this program so unique; small communities are rarely able to offer this.

Many youth are moving away from more traditional team sports, often due to the overly competitive nature of these sports.

It is wonderful when the youth of a community have a choice to participate in team sports or alternative outdoor activities - which also promote discipline, physical activity, and a sense of worth, while everyone wins.

As Mr. Barnett pointed out, many communities support sports teams which are separate from recreation sports.

There is often a misunderstanding of the role of recreation department team sports.

Generally, recreation departments focus on skill development, teamwork and having as much fun as possible. There is usually a policy of equal play for all.

So some communities have private, competitive leagues for those youth ready to go on to the next level of play; the recreation programs are excellent feeder programs for these competitive leagues.

Carbon County Recreation is recognized throughout the Intermountain West for creative, inclusive programming, that is the envy of many larger urban agencies.Carbon County's programs remain on the cutting edge of community recreation.

That said, Mr. Barnett's call for better funding of recreation is most welcome, in all communities.